On September 15, 1960, Armando Jiménez published Picardía mexicana, a book that dealt openly with the albur and with the way Mexicans speak. It had four new editions in its first year. According to Excélsior, it was reprinted without interruption until 2007, “alcanzando más de 150 reediciones” (reaching more than 150 reprints).
The Covered One
Under the PRI, the president chose his successor in secret and revealed him later. The cartoonist Abel Quezada is credited with creating the figure of el tapado, “the covered one.” His best-known cartoon shows a hooded man smoking, with the line “El tapado fuma Elegantes” (The covered one smokes Elegantes).
While the name stayed covered, the press read the signs. In 2017, the political writer Carlos Castillo described how the media “interpretan señales, gestos y guiños” (interpret signals, gestures and winks) to guess the choice.
How Do We Settle This?
¿Cómo nos arreglamos? “How do we settle this?” Lo dejo a su criterio, “I leave it to your judgment,” from a traffic officer. Acéiteme la mano, “oil my hand.” Ayúdame a ayudarte, “help me to help you.” Each phrase asks for a bribe, or offers one, without naming it.
A Word to the Wise
A buen entendedor, pocas palabras. “For one who understands well, few words.” A study of sayings in Decires, a journal of UNAM, notes that refranes are often expressed “parcialmente por razones de un estilo sugerente” (only in part, for the sake of a suggestive style). Their sense “se da siempre por sentado” (is always taken for granted).
I Don’t Know
In 2022, the linguists Flores Treviño and González Salinas published a study of the phrase no sé, “I don’t know,” in the journal Onomázein. They analyzed 12 interviews from a corpus of spoken Spanish recorded in Monterrey. The most frequent use of no sé was to soften what the speaker said.
The authors describe it as a strategy that protects “la imagen de ambos dialogantes” (the face of both speakers).
Silence as an Answer
Article 37 of Mexico’s Federal Tax Code gives the tax authorities three months to answer a request. If no answer is notified in that time, the taxpayer may treat the silence as a refusal. Lawyers call this negativa ficta, an implied refusal.
The silence then counts as a decision, and the taxpayer can file a legal challenge against it.
The Estrada Doctrine
On September 27, 1930, Foreign Secretary Genaro Estrada released a statement to the press. Mexico would no longer grant formal recognition to foreign governments. It called the practice “denigrante” (degrading), because it passed judgment on other nations. Mexico would limit itself “a mantener o retirar, cuando lo crea procedente, a sus agentes diplomáticos” (to keeping or withdrawing its diplomats when it sees fit).
Some articles in the Foreign Ministry’s own journal give the date as September 26. In 1988, non-intervention was written into Article 89 of the Constitution as a principle of foreign policy.
The Lima Group Declaration
On January 4, 2019, thirteen members of the Lima Group declared that they would not recognize Nicolás Maduro’s new term as president of Venezuela. Mexico did not sign. It was the first time it stayed out of a declaration of the group. Diplomats cited the principle of non-intervention.
The next day, President López Obrador explained: “No queremos tener pleitos con gobiernos extranjeros” (We do not want quarrels with foreign governments).
Whoever Gets Angry Loses
El que se enoja, pierde. “Whoever gets angry loses.” A study of sayings in Decires, a journal of UNAM, explains it as “advertencia para que, en caso de un conflicto, no perdamos a causa de nuestro enojo o descontrol” (a warning, so that in a conflict we do not lose because of our anger or loss of control).
Shut Up, Chachalaca
During the 2006 presidential campaign, President Vicente Fox criticized Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s plan to lower fuel prices. At an event in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, López Obrador answered: “Cállate, chachalaca” (Shut up, chachalaca). The chachalaca is a noisy bird.
According to Expansión, many analysts later counted the remark among the mistakes of his campaign.